


Burdens of the Mind

by Arcturus_Sinclair



Category: Inception (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-01
Updated: 2012-08-01
Packaged: 2017-11-11 05:39:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/475114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcturus_Sinclair/pseuds/Arcturus_Sinclair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charles and Erik and the kids as an extraction team. The Hellfire Club can be the rival extraction team. </p><p>Charles is the extractor? Erik is the hitman? Hank is the point man? Alex is the architect? Sean is the chemist? Raven is the forger?</p><p>Give me a long fic or a snippet - how they got into the business, trained team members, etc. -- and how they hooked up through it all. </p><p>Maybe Erik wants out so he can kill Shaw without having to endanger the whole team but Charles thinks Erik just wants to leave them because Erik doesn't care for them? </p><p>Maybe Hank and Alex have to go on a mission with just the two of them and they have to learn how to work together without counting on dad or papa to put an end to their fights? </p><p>Bonus if the X-Men are either in competition or are affiliated with Cobb and co.<br/>(Written for X-men first Kink)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ((Oh look more fics. Hope someone likes it.))

Dom Cobb had retired from Extraction. He rest still dabbled, but not like before.

So, the question is, what now? Well, that's where Charles Francis Xavier came in. He'd heard about Cobb and his team, and wanted in. So, he read everything he could get his hands on, and then assembled a team.

His sister Raven was the forger, as the shapeshifter it came naturally. Charles was the leader and Extractor, as the telepath. He was missing a chemist, an architect and point man. The point man was in the works.

The only person Charles trusted enough to be that major of a player was Erik Lehnsherr, or his former friend turned enemy turned...Charles didn't even know.

But, he brought the idea up to Erik over chess.

“You've heard of dream sharing, right?” A nod from Erik prompted him to continue. “Well, I think we could do a great deal with it. I've got a solid team, but I need a right hand man, or point man. And I'd like it to be you.”

Erik kept staring at the chess board before moving his rook. “How do you know I won't just stab you in the back again?”

“Because I trust you, my friend. Besides, you can't die in the dream world. You just wake up. So, we'll be fine. Just, please? You'd be the best in the business.”

“Who else is involved?” Erik asked, looking straight at Charles now.

“Just myself and Raven. We'll still need someone to build the dreams, and someone to put us under.”

“Emma could do the building. That is, if you trust her enough.” Erik looked up, and Charles realized, this was a test. Erik needed insurance that this wouldn't be him against everyone else if it came to that. Shaw was dead, but still. Charles nodded, once.

“That could work. Having two telepaths handling the grabbing and the landscape could be really useful, actually.” Erik smiled, one with too many teeth and the one that always reminded Charles of a shark just before it took a chunk out of you.

“Okay, I'm in then. Who do you think would make the best chemist?”

–-

It was simple, really, getting Sean to be the chemist. He jumped at the chance to do something different, and that was that. They had a team. Now, the next thing they needed were rules. Charles's specialty. He rolled his chair up to the group and looked around.

“Before we test anything, we should set some ground rules. First rule, no powers once we're in the dream world. It's an unfair advantage, as we'll already be in their mind.” Emma frown and Erik snorted.

“Why do I have the feeling that this is your way to limit us, until you can be sure we won't betray you, _Professor_?” Erik only called him Professor when he was angry, or wanted to goad Charles. Charles just smiled serenely.

“Not at all, Erik. I simply feel that with two telepaths and a metal manipulator, even the slightest slip could cause us to destroy someone's mind. And that is a risk I will not take.” He stared Erik down, then, waiting.

“He's right,” Raven murmured. “We need to take every precaution until we're sure we can do this. For now, no powers. After all, do we really need to give people reasons to hate mutants?” Erik broke the staring match with Charles to look over at her.

“Fine. We'll do things your way. On one condition. No powers, except in the case of an emergency. If something unexpected goes seriously wrong, I want this back up.” Charles nodded, right away.

“Of course. If things go wrong, powers may be used, our safety is key as well.” And there it was, they agreed on that.

“You said first rule, how many do you plan on?” Emma snapped.

“Three,” Charles replied, calmly. “Now, second rule. No shooting whoever we're working with. Not because it'll kill them, but it will wake them up and shatter the dream. That goes for killing anyone else on the team. If we need to wake up early, then Erik or I will break the dream. And if we can't, Emma will be next in line as the builder. Understood?” After nods, he sighs.

“This one isn't so much of a rule, as a disclaimer. I'll be choosing who we work with, and which cases we choose. If we get more than one case for the same time, I'll be picking which we take. You'll all have the option to back out if you choose, and you'll be replaced for that case only. You are my main team, anyone else that comes will be for certain cases.” Erik let out a quiet sigh of relief at that.

“Can we try this now?” That from Emma, who Charles turned to.

“Yes. However, when you build, don't build from memory. It'll make it harder to remember what's real and what's not. Speaking of that, I've got a book you'll all need to read. It's the basic ins and outs of dream sharing.” The book was actually written by Dom Cobb, who was the best in the business.

Emma just nodded. For someone who complained about nearly everything, she was being oddly agreeable. Raven bounced in her seat.

“Let's do this.”

\---

They were in the dream. Charles was staring outward, thoughtfully. “Erik, come here. Raven, I'd like you on the other side. Emma, don't touch any of the street.” Once everyone was where he asked, he took a breath.

And stood up. Raven gasped, tears forming in her eyes. Erik just stayed stock still, his eyes locked on Charles, ready to catch him. Charles took a step, then another. He wobbled but didn't fall. He turned back around after a few more steps, and flashed a blinding smile at all of them.

“Well, this is good. We can work with this.” He toned his smile down, and nodded. “Okay, Raven, pick a form and then we'll go explore.”

Raven, until now, had been in her blue form. She smiled before choosing a male form, turning her red hair a strawberry blonde, and her eyes green. “How do I look?” Her voice was deeper, and she was wearing a black suit that matched the one Erik was wearing.

“Perfect,” Charles complimented. “Now, shall we?” He was wearing a white shirt with a light blue sweater vest and darker blue slacks. Erik, on his left, was wearing a plain black suit. And Emma, a long white dress. Longer than her normal clothing.

They started walking through the city Emma had built quietly, Erik pointing out flaws in the structures, which fixed themselves after he spoke.

“That doesn't count as using my powers, right, Charles?” Charles shook his head.

“No. It's not like you're bending the metal yourself, or using it to harm. I'm actually relying on you for those small details anyway. You'll need to teach Emma. Everything we do needs to be as flawless as possible.” Emma laughed.

“Well, Charles, proving once again how highly you value perfection.” Erik glanced at her, sharply as did Raven. Charles just smiled.

“Then I'm lucky you're here, aren't I? After all, you are as perfect as a diamond.” Raven burst out laughing and Emma even cracked a real smile.

“I'm glad you noticed.” Charles kept smiling for another moment before sobering.

“But in reality, we're competing with Dom Cobb's legacy, and he was the best. Therefore, I expect the best that you can give me, and I've chosen the best. If we want to get anywhere with this, we need good bases and practice.” They all nodded, Erik smiling another shark's smile.

“We'll blow Dom Cobb and his team away. We'll be better than they could have ever imagined.”

\---

And they were. There were whispers after their first few jobs, already saying that they were the best since Dom Cobb left the business. Anyone else would be overwhelmed with the amount of calls they got, the amount of praises they got by every employer.

But not Charles Francis Xavier. He took all of it in stride. And they  _were_ good. He couldn't deny that. He and Erik moved like they were still using his telepathy, Raven was flawless—not that he expected anything else, and the things Emma built, had they been real, could be in museums. 

They could be good, could be better than Dom Cobb. Erik was right. They were already on their way to being the best ever.

They just needed one big break.


	2. Chapter 2

Dom Cobb was retired from Extraction. He'd done it formally and legally. Or, as legally as he could in a semi-illegal business.

But, there were rumors that he was back. Rumors that hadn't reached Charles Xavier and his team yet. The rumor most accepted was he was offered something he couldn't refuse. But, no one could figure out what that was. Some people said his pride brought him back; after all, by now everyone that had any ears in that world had heard of Charles and his team.

Some said that everyone had a price, and Dom Cobb was no exception. But, no one knew for sure. They just knew something big was coming. Something that would change the game.

\---

Dom Cobb _was_ back. Not that he'd be giving his reasons anytime soon. He'd called Arthur first.

“There's a job. I want our team on it. You know where to go.” Arthur had agreed, albeit worriedly. He didn't like not knowing things, and after the Fischer job, he wasn't fully sure he could trust Dom to tell him everything. But, he was curious, and he'd go for it.

Arthur agreed to contact Eames himself, and Cobb would contact Ariadne. Everyone on the team knew how close they'd become after the Fischer job, so Arthur didn't even question it.

\---

And a day later, they were all back together, and Cobb had just begun to explain what they were doing.

“This isn't about Inception, it's about Extraction. I may be the best in the business when it comes to getting information, but there are people who are good at keeping it hidden. There's a group dedicated to keeping secrets hidden, and beating my game. That's who we're up against. I'm not sure which person we'll get, I'm going to find that out in the next few days. But for now, everything needs to be seamless. And we need to be armed and ready.”

Arthur nodded. “How deep will we need to go?”

“At least three layers and they can't know it's a dream. We'll be killed before we can finish speaking if that happens. So, we have to be careful. No changing anything once we're in. Understood?”

Everyone nodded before Eames spoke up.

“Hey, Cobb. Have you heard about that London group? Xaiver and Lehns...whatever?”

“Lehnshnerr,” Arthur supplied.

“Yes, I have. But, it doesn't matter, because everyone will know that I'm back soon enough, and then no one will care about them.” He smiled slightly at that and nodded once.

“But, they're not who we're up against anyway, and we have work to do.”

\---

It wasn't surprising, really, how well they meshed once they were back together. They all expected that. What they didn't expect, was how hard it was to get a new chemist. Yusuf was off doing something else, so they were all lost. Eames, however, promised to look into it.

It took a good few weeks, but they eventually had a chemist. He turned out to be a thirty-something ginger Russian-Brit named Koschei. The man was snarky and had a very black and white way of thinking, but he was the next best after Yusuf, that was clear after a few days.

So, they were back in business.

\---

The first dream with the new drugs was simple. A grassy field with a forest on one end, and a lake on the other. Koschei accompanied them this time, so he could see how the drug worked first-hand.

Normally Cobb wouldn't have allowed that, but Koschei made a very convincing argument. It was better for him to go and see and feel the effects of the drugs for himself, and the tweak accordingly.

And he didn't have much to tweak in the end, he'd done very well. If anything, it would need to be stronger. When Cobb mentioned this, his reply was simple.

“Well, I'd rather have to increase things, than cut back after something goes wrong.” He flashed Cobb a grin and shrugged.

\---

The weeks flew by after that, and soon they had a month until the job. Cobb knew the name of who they were working for, as did Arthur. The others would find out soon, but they had to keep this much more quite than they did Fischer.

After all, this one they were fighting the best there was. And they had no idea if they would win.


	3. Chapter 3

Their big break came sooner than they expected. About a week after they heard the news of Dom Cobb's return, Charles got a call. They were being hired to 'break in' to a CIA type business called EDC or Extraction Defense Corporation.

It was odd, being requested for something like that, but the pay was fifty thousand dollars, and it was a challenge. And when could any of them resist a challenge? They agreed almost immediately, Charles having checked with everyone before taking it, despite him having the final say.

They were good, obviously someone other than them thought that. Charles was excited and everyone could see it.

“Charles. You realize that this isn't a game, right? I'm likely going to have to shoot the projections.” Erik was staring at Charles with a bemused look.

“..I don't like the idea of shooting anyone, but the projections won't feel it, so I suppose it's all right. And I know it's not a game. But we're good. We're rivaling Cobb and his team. And think about the good we'll we doing. This corporation isn't doing it to protect the innocent, but to protect big business secrets.” He grinned at the idea of that.

“Oh, Charles, such an optimist.” Raven shook her head, though her expression was one of fondness.

“Well, the pay's good at least,” Emma finally added. Erik shook his his head with a sigh.

“Okay, what now?” Charles perked up, beaming.

“Well, we've got to be seamless, they can't notice anything out of the ordinary. And we've got a month and two weeks to get perfect. We'll get names later on, but right now, we focus on perfection.”

A group nod and they went under.

\---

It took a month to become what they all agreed as perfect. They took turns being the one the job was based on, looking for any mistakes. And once there were none, they still kept working. Once the last week came, they were ready. And now all they could do was wait. Until Charles got a phone call.

“Xavier.” He listened quietly, nodding to no one. “All right, thank you, good bye.” He hung up, and looked at the group.

“We'll be in the mind of Jean Grey.” Erik froze dead in his tracks.

“A mutant?” Charles nodded.

“We'll have to rethink everything. If she still has Phoenix, or is Phoenix, we can't just make thing perfect. She'll know who we are anyway. This is more dangerous than we imagined.”

“Why would she be with them?” Erik looked as close to horrified as he could manage. It _was_ Erik after all.   
“Everyone has secrets. And who would be the most willing to protect them, than the ones with the most to lose? Us.” Erik nodded.

“You're the one who always said not to hide,” Emma snarked. She smirked at Charles.

“I know. But not everyone agreed with that, and as much as I hate to admit it, maybe hiding a bit longer wouldn't have hurt us.” Charles sighed, leaning back in the chair. “Either way, Jean is dangerous. And she knows Erik and I. Or did. She was one of our first. So, it'll be harder to hide from her.”

Raven looked solemn. “I remember her. She was cute. But okay. We can try changing the way you two look to her. A minimal forgery.” Charles nodded.

“That could work. It's worth a try anyway.” He turned to Erik, looking saddened. “I hadn't expected to use this on one of our own.”

Erik shrugged. “With how many of us there are, I'm not surprised. I did expect to find one accidentally, though. Rather than one the Government knew of.”

Raven quietly agreed with him, as did Emma. Charles nodded. “I shouldn't be surprised then, is what you're saying. Okay. Fine. We won't back out and we'll do our best.”

“And not die.” This from Emma, who was looking oddly serious.

“Yes, that goes without saying. We all know the risks of dropping into Limbo. If we even make it past the first level. If not, then we'll have to back out. Our lives come before the job. Always.”

Raven just nodded with a sigh. “This feels more wrong than it did before.”

“I know.”

\---

The day had come. They were as ready as they could be. And now they were at the airport, waiting for a plane. The lie Jean had been told was she was meeting a business man for the next stage of him joining EDC.

That was where Raven would come in. She would pose as said man, and slip something into Jean's drink. And then they would go under. And that was where the hard part began. They would have to recreate wherever Jean was held. And Raven would stay as the business man through the first level.

So, the entire dream was put to Emma and Erik's expertise. Which worried Charles, not because he didn't trust them, but because he was walking into this blind.

And he didn't like being blind in any way. But, he trusted his team and they couldn't back out now. He just took a breath and boarded the plane after Raven.

\---

Charles watched from the other side of the glass as Raven entered the room. He leaned forward as Raven began speaking, Jean holding a notebook. She jotted notes as the 'man' spoke, and Charles knew they were in code.

That was the second issue. Once they found the information, they had to decode it. They all perked up when Jean suddenly slumped forward. Raven turned and nodded towards the glass. Charles wheeled into the room first. He then spoke quietly.

“Okay. We'll need to get out before she wakes up. Or...no. Sean, set up two PSAIV machines and connect them. Everyone except Raven back in the other room. We'll go in that way. Only Raven will be in the room when she wakes up and we all can get out.”

They all shuffled back to where they were and laid down, except for Charles. He settled next to Sean and helped everyone else get set up.

“Ready?” Sean nodded and hit the button.

\---

They landed back in the interrogation room, but Emma's dream version. They weren't going to be in here long. Everyone except for Raven, still in her disguise, hid away again. Raven, or 'George' folded her (his) arms.

“I'd like proof that you can deliver. That you can hide as well as you say.”

“I assume you'd like us to go under,” was Jean's simple reply.

“Yes. I'll have something for you to find, then you hide it, and I'll try to find it.” 'George' watched her calmly.

“Fine. You brought a PASIV system?” George nodded and began setting up what he (she) needed.

From here were the harder parts. They changed their plans at the last moment, deciding to have Jean knowing about the last two levels as a 'test'. And Erik would be her projection when they went into her dream. Raven was supposed to fail, and while all the projections, including Erik, were locked on trying to 'kill' her, Charles and Emma would take care of gathering what they needed.

It was a risk, and a big one. Thankfully Jean had been trained by Shaw, as was Emma, so she had told Erik exactly how Jean's projections should act.

'George' looked up, from his place on the floor. “Lying down would be easier. And I've given us two hours in real time. That should suffice.”

“We may use less than that, but in case we don't that will be fine.” Jean slid from her chair, lying next to the machine. In minutes they were all slipping into the next level.

And the danger was increasing. Who knows if this would work.


End file.
